The Secrets That We Keep
by Ninjawolf1313
Summary: Eight years have passed and the YYH gang all have lives and careers of their own. One day they get a call from Spirit World, putting the whole group back together with a mission more dangerous than the last. What's known is false, enemies are friends, and old friend's come back from the grave. It all starts with a break in to Spirit Worlds vaults...fifty years beforehand. Kurama/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I'm here with ANOTHER story to share with you guys. This one will be longer than Memories and it will obviously be about Kurama. The chapters will be shorter as well, but that just means more updates. Anyone who had read any of my stories will know that my themes are usually dark and very adult, so if you are not of a mature age than please do not read. It is not my attentions to offend anyone.  
Also, I do not want to hear any "Mary-Sue" comments or vulgar reviews. If it sucks you're free to tell me but in a mature way in which I will actually gain something. The main character for this story is more complex than any other character I have ever thought of. You will see that in chapter two when she is introduced.**

Please review and let me know what you think. I will update chapter one soon.

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**Prologue**

She could feel the adrenaline racing through her veins and god did she love the feeling. A small smirk was playing on her angelic face as she blended into the shadows created by her partner and best friend.

She knew that he was around; making sure that no harm came to her as he scoped out ahead, protecting her in a way that was endearing though a bit unnecessary. He knew this of course, but demons were stubborn and it was nice to feel his soothing presence as she made her way further into beloved danger.

If something did go wrong before it was his turn she knew that he was there just like she was always there for him.

But this mission was dangerous and they both knew the inevitable outcome. Once they were done there was no turning back. They were both okay with the bitter-sweet ending that was to come.

The woman hidden by the shadows paused as she sunk further back. She relaxed when she felt his shadowed arms wrap around her as he lowered his unseen head into her neck, enveloping her completely and utterly into the darkness.

He had been beside her the whole time.

They both watched as a blue haired fairy girl and Prince Koenma walked down the hallway, idle chitchat passing between them as they walked passed without noticing a thing.

"**It's not too soon to turn back,"** she heard his deep voice whisper like the wind in her ear, but she shook her head slightly, lying back against his chest a little more as he clutched her tighter.

It was her way of saying goodbye. After this she doubted they would see each other again. Too much was going to happen in their time apart.

However, if they did see each other again everything was going to be different including their relationship.

After a moment of listening to their surroundings he slowly loosened his grip. She stepped away from his hold, glancing slightly back at where she knew he was before continuing on her way.

She made up her mind to do this and she would see it through.

She never pretended to be a saint, and that darkness in her was what made her so fascinating to him upon their first meeting. But she always had a reason for every sin committed.

She always had a reason hidden behind a wall of selfish cruelty.

She was slightly surprised by how lax the security was, but she knew better. Spirit World had been violated too many times and now the vault was so guarded that it was practically a one way mission. But they were predictable and after watching Spirit World and their everyday routines, she knew everything to expect and yet to expect nothing at all.

Spirit World was much too cocky and that was to be their downfall.

She bent down low, her eyes narrowed in on her victims as her body became still as a statue while her blood began to rush faster through her veins.

"**Be quick,"** she heard the undertone of his voice say, and not a moment later the two guards in her way were both lying on the floor with their necks broken without a sound being made.

She sunk back into the shadows once more, his arms cradling her gently as he moved, looking like nothing more than a shadow barely seen. She held her breath and remained completely still as she allowed him to take the lead and guide her to where she needed to go.

They passed by all the worthless junk that Spirit World felt more need to protect, and instead came towards the door hidden by shelves and completely forgotten though it held the most valuable information and scrolls.

It was a scroll that they were risking everything for.

The woman allowed her partner to slither away from her as she slightly solidified only enough to make physical contact. She eyed the lock on the old chipped door as she pulled a simple metal hair clip from her hair.

Slowly the clip morphed into the shape she needed and with no hesitation she picked the lock in under thirty seconds. One of the things that caught his attention was her gift, and over the years he helped her perfect it for this moment.

He knew everything about her, and there was no one that she trusted more to be there and keep her safe. But after this she will be alone until the time came when she would call upon him again -If she called upon him again.

They had no idea how long that would be. Anything could happen and they both knew this.

But he always said one problem at a time, in other words he expected it to get very ugly someday. She only hoped that someday would be later in life.

She stuck to the cover that he created as they made their way into a room full of faded white scrolls. For a moment she just listened, her body relaxed and her cool sea colored eyes glancing around the room slowly before she began to move, her companion moving on the tiled floor under her.

"**Do you see it?"** his soft voice questioned only moments before she saw a single scroll in the middle that was pulsing a soft red.

"Yes," she whispered back, her voice sounding vacant and completely unashamed of her obvious crime.

With sure movements she headed towards the scroll, and with every step it started to pulse a brighter red, beckoning her forth and whispering gently as the legions claimed that it did.

But the legions were wrong in any other fact.

The scroll was just high enough for her to reach without straining, and the moment it touched her finger tips the cold aching in her chest, the burning in her head, the ruthless that seemed to send her into an uncontrollable bloody rage when she was separated from her companion disappeared.

She felt human.

"**Come Mahalin (1). We must leave before they spot the guards."**

She allowed her weary body to sink into his as she looked up to meet his dark indigo eyes, a pure light shining in her normally malevolent green-blue irises that the demon holding her had never seen before.

It was beautiful.

Without a trace the two disappeared, leaving behind nothing more than a mystery of why two guards had their necks broken with Spirit World none the wiser.

It wouldn't be until fifty years later that their crime will be noticed...

And they will be ready.

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**(1)Mahalin mean love in Filipino, and it is being used as a term of endearment. It's not her name.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Loving Tea, Ozzy1313, Sara, and Sunriser for you reveiws! I am happy that you guys liked it and the chapters will be getting longer. Please continue to review =D**

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**Chapter One**

He couldn't smile any more widely if he tried. The happiness bubbling in his chest was stifling, but he allowed the feeling to surge forth. No one was watching and could see the softening in his emerald eyes as he held the sweet baby girl to his chest and fed her a bottle.

He knew the moment that he saw Akira that he would love her and protect her. Shuuichi on the other hand was more interested in hanging out with his friends, not his new baby sister.

The twenty-five year old couldn't blame his eighteen year old step-brother. He didn't understand the importance of family just yet, but being a fox demon family to Kurama meant everything.

One day Shuuichi will understand that getting drool on you was not the end of the world.

"Thank you so much Shuichi. I've been so busy around here lately that I just haven't had any decent sleep."

Kurama smiled gently at his mother who was standing in the door way with a dreamy smile on her face. He laughed softly to himself, knowing that she was picturing the day that he settled down and made her some grand-babies.

"You know I don't mind mother. You look rested," he said while she took Akira from his arms so she could burp her.

"Shuichi, you are a very busy man. You're an attorney for crying out loud! You don't have to be so sweet all the time. You're career comes first."

"Mother," Kurama said as a soft chuckled escaped from his lips, "family will always be first."

Shiori's dark brown eyes filled with tears, and the sight of his mother so happy hit him in ways he had never felt before.

In his years as Youko Kurama he never felt strong emotions such as these. The closest thing he felt to love was his feelings towards his best friend and companion Kuronue. But even with him Kurama was selfish and cold, and now he can't imagine living that way again.

Being shot by a hunter and having to find refuge in an unborn fetus was the best thing that ever happened to him in his three-thousand years of life.

He was happy as Shuichi Minamino.

"You go ahead and do what you had planned today son. I'm sure Yusuke and Kazuma are dying to see you."

Kurama stood and smiled down at his tiny mother, noting the brightness of her eyes and the glow in her cheeks. It was nice to see his mother so happy. Her family was expanding, and he used to feel guilty for always being gone when he was all she ever had.

Now she has another son, a daughter and a husband to love.

"I will see you next week mother," he said quietly, noting that Akira had falling asleep in their mother's arms.

He kissed his mother's cheek, gave his sister a soft smile of adoration, before exiting the house he grew up in and getting into his silver Honda Civic. He listened to talk radio as he drove through traffic, heading towards the outskirts of town.

He preferred it away from the city even though the commute to work was rather long, but his friends also decided to move out of the city as well. For the past few days he had been living in a hotel, and he found that he missed the people who had become not only his friends but family.

He felt every tense muscle in his body relax once he exited the highway and entered the smooth dirt driveway that lasted for ten minutes and should be consider a road instead.

He could see the plants that he planted for protection greeting him home as they slithered out so he could see them clearly.

Most people had gates. Kurama had killer plants.

Slowly he pulled up to the off white two-story house and parked his car at the end of the driveway right before he reached the steps. He grabbed his duffel bag from the passenger seat and exited his car, not even bothering to lock it since he lived away from civilization.

He lived twenty minutes away from Genkai, and with only a question was granted permission to build him a house on her property. He and Kuwabara designed the house, and once it was built Yusuke and Keiko decided to also get Kuwabara to help them build their own house a little bit away.

And then Yukina admitted her love for Kuwabara and they built their own house on the other side of Kurama and further back on the property.

Kurama became an attorney, Kuwabara an architect, Yusuke created his own dojo, Keiko became a therapist for mainly children, and Shizuru ended up marrying the owner of the calling center she spent most of her life working at.

So many things had changed over the years, and Kurama never once regretted his decision to become Shuichi Minamino and leave Youko behind. He had never felt such contentment before, and finally had himself a home which he belonged when in his life he was too busy moving around to have a place to belong to.

That was why when he heard a dull ringing coming from somewhere within his home, a distinct ringing that he hadn't heard since he cut his ties with Spirit World, he felt his blood run cold and the smile drop from his face.

Shivers ran down his spine as he snapped his head to his right where Yusuke's house could be barely seen. A powerful display of power was coming straight from his house and causing the surrounding nature to sway dangerously.

Yusuke was very pissed off.

He barely realized that he was moving as he opened his door and entered his home, not even bothering to turn on the lights as he dropped his bag and headed up stairs.

He passed his bedroom and continued down the hall before entering what was set up to be his office. He stepped around the dark mahogany desk and unlocked the draw down at the bottom that held a girly pink compact.

For a moment he stilled as he watched it glow and listened to its shrilling ring. Finally he reached out a tan hand and clutched it tightly, his eyes loosing everything that they held since he put together the life that he had.

He looked cold.

He flipped it open, keeping all emotion from his face as he stared into a pair of serious honey brown eyes that he hadn't seen since he was seventeen.

"Kurama, we have a problem."


	3. Chapter 3

**I am exited to see all of the responses that I am getting. You guys are amazing and I hope that you sick with me. Thank you to Ozzy1313, jennibearrr, LovingTea and Sara for your beautiful reviews!**

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**Chapter Two**

The air was tense as Koenma scanned the room with nervous eyes, his adult form twitching slightly as he twiddled his thumbs. The fairy girl standing next to him seemed just as nervous but excitement was clear in her magenta eyes.

Boton missed being able to act human, and after Yusuke's days as Spirit Detective she never seemed happy when doing her job.

For her this was a dream come true.

But for Koenma this was a nightmare, and as he met the four men in front of him with a serious gaze that was returned by dangerous glares, he suddenly regretted not making a will before this meeting.

Out of all of them however, Kurama looked the most angered when in the past he was always the most calm. The foxes face had narrowed and grown more defined, and his once large open eyes had changed, making him look more like his alter ego than he used to.

His hair was still long but he had grown to at least six-foot-two which was tall for the Japanese. Koenma briefly wondered if he knew how much Youko Kurama was peeking through.

Hiei was no longer so small, instead matching Yusuke's average height of five-eleven, while Kuwabara and Yusuke hadn't changed nearly at all.

Oddly enough even Kuwabara's beady glare was intimidating, and he was always the one who was on board first.

But they were all adults now and nearly eight years had passed since they had last done a mission together. Koenma had sneaked a peek every now and again to see how their lives were going.

That was what made him feel so guilty. They finally had lives and jobs and happiness, something that they didn't have when they worked for him.

"Someone broke into the vault and stole something very valuable," he finally said.

"And?" was Yusuke's droned reply.

Koenma sighed and rubbed in-between in eyes. He really didn't want to say this...

"Someone broke into the vault and then stole something that will create a mass destruction." he paused as he met each set of eyes in the room, "They stole it fifty years ago."

If the break in didn't get their attention than that surly did.

"Fifty years ago? Than wouldn't we all be dead by now?"

Koenma bit down on the blue pacifier in his mouth for a moment as he turned over Kuwabara's words inside of his already racing mind.

"You would think so," he said slowly, "but we don't even know exactly when it happened and who did it. They were precise and not even the cameras could see them. They even snapped two of my guard's neck without alerting anyone. They knew what they were doing."

"Spirit World has always been too cocky. It's about time you were put in your place."

All eyes turned to the dark figure the furthest in the back.

"Hiei, don't you find it strange that they were so stealthy that not even the camera's caught them? Our cameras are specially designed to catch movement and odd energy signals. Don't forget, that was how you got caught when you stole from the vault," Boton said from her place next to Koenma who was sitting stiff as a board behind his desk.

"You're defenses are pathetic."

"Seriously Hiei, why are you always so difficult?" Boton said in irritation as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms.

"Hn, have you fools truly not figured it out yet?"

"Most likely for the same damn reason I'm ready to walk out of these doors and not look back. We're fucking sick of being Spirit Worlds puppets. We already sacrificed too much for you people."

"I'm with Urameshi. You know I love you Boton and I consider Koenma a friend, but I have a job now and I just can't ditch everything. I almost failed Junior High and I had to work really hard to get to where I am today. And Kurama's mother just had a..."

"Stop."

All eyes turned to the silent red-head, all surprised to hear his voice when he had been so silent. The dark gleam in his eyes had all of their mouths clamping shut as the room went eerily silent.

"The day that you found your guards dead, show me the tape."

Koenma looked startled, taken back by the ferocity and gruffness of Kurama's normally soft tone. He sounded like Youko and the golden specks forming in his emeralds eyes only showed that for the first time in eight years he wasn't suppressing his demonic side.

Without saying a word Koenma slipped in the tape on top and in silence they all turned their attention to the screen. It was shaky but the picture was clear as they watched two male SDF officers standing in front of the vault, talking to one another though they couldn't hear their words.

"This is only five minutes before they suddenly dropped dead, so watch closely," Koenma said softly and every person in the room did, even the blue ogre who was standing next to Boton and forgotten about.

It was so quick that they barely had the chance to react to the once living breathing bodies dropping to the floor in a heap.

Koenma paused the tape and with solemn eyes turned his attention to the men in front of him. Finally they were beginning to understand just how serious this was. These enemies were more deadly than all of their past ones combined.

Mainly because they truly had no idea who they were or where to start.

"That gave me chills," Kuwabara stuttered as he began to rub his arms, the wife-beater he was wearing suddenly not feeling that warm.

"Me to. I didn't see a thing, not even a gust of wind," Yusuke said softly, his brown eyes wide in horror and curiosity.

"Now I am intrigued," Hiei said, a slight smirk tilting up his lips at the possibilities of a new challenge.

Koenma mentally rolled his eyes when he saw the excited gleam in the fire demons crimson eyes, but he was happy that he had Hiei on-board without much of a fight. Very rarely is he the first to join in.

"Rewind the tape."

Once again everyone turned their attention to Kurama but only this time they were confused. His eyes were narrowed but showed disbelief and even a bit of pain, but he looked calmer which Koenma was glad for.

"Why? We already saw a bad ass demon kill without even being there," Yusuke question as he ruffled his growing black hair.

"He was there Urameshi. They were just invisible," Kuwabara mumbled, but before a fight could break out the tape was playing again.

"Don't watch the guards, watched the wall on the right."

Everyone did as Kurama asked, this time more determined to see whatever it was that he saw the first time through.

"What in the hell was that?" Hiei demanded but Yusuke and Kuwabara were looking at each other in confusion.

"What was what?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, I didn't see anything either," Koenma stated and Boton nodded in agreement.

Of course so did the ogre George, but he was still forgotten though he didn't quite know that.

"There was a slight shadow that slithered across the wall, and there was no way that it could belong to those guards," Hiei informed, and once more Koenma played the tape, but this time they knew what to look for.

"Holy shit, he's right!" Yusuke yelled as he pointed his finger at the large television that was taking up nearly the whole wall.

"How could I have not have caught that? Koenma mumbled.

"I barely saw a thing sir. It's not your fault," Boton soothed.

"I still couldn't see anything. I think I went too long without using my powers," Kuwabara mumbled as he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to fix them.

"I'll kick your ass later Kuwabara, but right now we need to concentrate on this."

"Yusuke is right. You're pathetic powers are unimportant."

"Shut up you mutated shrimp!"

"Stop it!" Koenma yelled, his temper flaring in a way that the group had never gotten to see in the past.

He looked more worried than he had anytime before, even when the enemy was Sensui, and not even Yusuke could open his mouth to say a smart comment when he saw the normally childish ruler looking so concerned and outraged.

"This is more serious than anything you have handled. We have no idea what this person is capable of and why they haven't acted yet. It could very well be a trap or a plan that has been in motion for years. Imagine the damage that can be done if we don't get five steps ahead and soon. I need you guys to stop fighting and working together. This isn't about Spirit World or an ancient scroll missing. It's about what will happen if we don't succeed."

"An ancient scroll, which one?"

Koenma fell silent and took a deep breath as he met the old fox's intense gaze head on.

"The Scroll of Labis na abaliwan. The Scroll of Insanity," he translated darkly as he stood up from his desk and stepped around it, his hands behind his back and his honey brown eyes narrowed in thought.

"It is a scroll that will drive its user insane. We are unsure of why and how exactly. We came by it on accident."

"Than how in the hell do you know it's dangerous?" Yusuke asked bluntly.

Koenma sighed and licked his parched lips before beginning to speak but he never got the chance, Kurama cutting him off instead.

"There is a legend of a white sorceress who fell in love with a demon. White sorceresses are very sensitive to right and wrong, good and bad, but she fell for this demon regardless and together they made a child. She never took into consideration that a child with mixed blood would be unbalanced, over run by the tainted blood of her demon lover." everyone watched as Kurama closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if he was picturing it in his head before continuing.

"The child was born and acted normal at first, but at early ages its energy became massive, unstable and completely and utterly evil. Its demonic side dominated its other half and because of that it had no sense of right or wrong. The white sorceress had no choice but to put her own life into a scroll in order to end the evil she created. But the mother couldn't kill her child so instead she trapped its soul inside with her. It is rumored that if used the scroll will drive you insane because the child dominated its mothers pure soul."

The room was silent, but each and every one of them didn't like the images that went through their heads.

"Where are the white sorceresses today? I never heard of them. Are they witches or something?" Yusuke asked, recovering first as he broke the heavy silence.

"We don't really know what they are, but they existed many centuries ago and became extinct the more tainted humanity became. They can't exist without nature and in a world full of anger and hatred. That was why the child was so unstable," Koenma informed as he pushed down the nausea that formed while Kurama spoke.

He was glad that he left out a few details, like how the child murdered its father and feasted on his flesh and then nearly killed its mother before she had the chance trapped it.

"I don't even know what to think about that," Kuwabara mumbled, his face looking a little green as he plopped down onto the floor.

Being the most sensitive, Koenma imagined that this mission was going to be the hardest on him.

"What is it that you're thinking so hard about Kurama?" Hiei questioned, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

The fox didn't reply at first, his eyes giving nothing away though his eyebrows were drawn in together in concentration.

"I knew someone who was that skilled in using shadows. But it can't be him…"

"Who is it?" Koenma asked as his chest tightened in anxiety.

"Kuronue, my partner from back when I was Youko Kurama. But I watched him die."

"Kuronue the bat demon thief? He's still alive though he hasn't shown up on the radar in nearly fifty years."

All eyes turned to the now noticed blue ogre. He smiled wildly when he saw that they were paying attention to him, but when he noticed all the different assortment of looks his smile fell.

"What?" he questioned innocently as he scratched his head in question.

No one replied.

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**next chapter you get to actually meet the main character. It will be out within a few days. Yay! Reevvviiieeewwwwwwwww**


	4. Chapter 4

**And in this chapter you get to meet the deep woman who is our main character! Yay!**

I would like to thank sammycrusinix, Ozzy1313, Sara and LovingTea for your beautiful and awesome reviews. When my days are rough you guys make me happy. Thank you =D

**enjoy.  
**

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**Chapter Three**

Her smile was wide and her eyes bright as she stood out on her worn wooden front porch, sipping hot tea and watching the trees sway in the gentle breeze. Her favorite time of the day was the early morning, when the world was still sleeping and quiet.

She loved her home and the way that the forest surrounded her, excluding her from the world unless she decided otherwise. It was beautiful being surrounded by so much nature and not being in the smothering city.

She hated having to go get groceries but she had to thus she starve.

Some world say that her life was a lonely one, but she sometimes became overwhelmed by how peaceful her life was. No, she had no family alive and her only friend was nowhere near her, but she had herself and in the end that was all that was important.

In the end that was all you had.

She took one more sniff of the clean smug free air before heading inside of her old but comfortable home. She hummed a song she had heard on the radio softly to herself as she headed upstairs and into her tidy room.

She ran a brush through her long silken black hair and put on a pair of jeans and a long white v-neck t-shirt before heading back down stairs.

She grabbed a faded black leather jacket that was too big for her thin though tall frame, and once she was surrounded by the warm fabric she grabbed a set of keys hanging from a tack on the wall. She smiled gently as she locked the front door and headed towards her beaten up red Toyota.

Her jacket still smelled of him -Spice and fresh water.

She drove slowly through the make shift, though nature dominated driveway, before entering the highway and heading into town. She allowed the wind to play with her long hair as she drove with the windows down and the radio blaring old school rock.

She didn't even bother to glance at the speedometer, she knew she was going well over the speed limit, but never did she care for the petty rules that people seem to fear.

She did slow down however when she entered the city limits, taking mind to the fact that the city is crowded and the last thing she wanted was to hurt someone because she was being foolish.

As she did every month that she went shopping, she pulled into the small family owned diner that had great sandwiches and tea right before she completely entered the city.

Gracefully she got out of her car and walked through the glass doors, noting that like every time business was slow but the atmosphere was light.

That was why she liked it here.

"Hanako my darling, run out of food already? You sure don't look like you've had anything to eat in ages."

The tall dark-haired woman laughed softly as she turned to meet the gentle eyes of the middle-aged woman walking towards her.

"Hello Sandra, it's good to see you to," Hanako joked as the smaller woman pulled her down for a motherly hug.

"You know I love seeing you dear, but you're much too skinny. You will never find a husband if you don't get some meat on those bones."

Hanako rolled her eyes at the graying haired woman who was all about tradition and how a woman should be and act. But one look at Hanako and you could tell that no man was going to dominate her the way that Sandra believed women should be.

She said and did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted, and nothing could ever change that.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me Hanako Kobayashi, one day you will thank me. You're much too lovely to not be married with a family. The only reason why you're not now is because you won't give any man the time of day."

Hanako sighed as she sat down at her favorite booth in the corner by the window that showed the forest. She had known Sandra for five years, ever since she started stopping by the diner, but the woman had a very specific way of living and had a habit of trying to force it on everyone else.

"I am not interested in a relationship. In this day in age it is not odd for a woman to not be married when she's only twenty-six," Hanako said calmly as she crossed her long legs under the table.

Sandra scoffed but let it go as she went to get Hanako some tea and her food. This was how it always went, and if Sandra wasn't such a strong opinionated woman then Hanako wouldn't bother wasting her time. She had no time for the drones of society.

But over the years she became attached against her better judgment. For some reason when she feels a connection with a person, she just can't stay away from them. She hated that about herself. It was inconvenient.

"Here you go dear, a ham and turkey sandwich with a garden salad on the side."

Hanako ate while listening to Sandra talk about her youngest son's grades, the restaurant and about her everyday life. She gave the polite amount of responses, but never once spoke of herself.

She never did, but Hanako was so skilled at diverting the conversation that Sandra never noticed once.

After saying goodbye to Sandra and promising to visit soon, Hanako was back in her car and driving further into the city. She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the smelly air and felt a slight headache coming on in response, but she had no choice but to suck it up.

When she pulled up to the market, her greeting smile was kind and flawless as she entered the store with a smooth face that only years of practice could produce. She grabbed a basket and went to the fruits section first, all the while keeping her attention on those around her and unfortunately the shallow crap they felt the need to say out loud.

_"Wow that girl is tall."_

_"Damn, that girl is fine."_

_"Who the heck is she? She must be a man or something."_

Hanako couldn't help but be aware of everything going on around her, it was in her nature, and that was why when two female voices met her ears she slowly walked in that direction, still picking up fruit as she went.

_"I can't believe that Yusuke is getting pulling into this again. He promised me that we would start concentrating on our family."_

_"I hate that Kazuma is being pulled into this too, but there is nothing that we can do except support them."_

_"I know Shizuru, but everything was so good. Yusuke was supposed to be finished with Spirit World. I can't help but hate Koenma for this."_

The second voice sighed. _"Me to Kiddo. Me to."_

Hanako kept a straight face as she continued slowly shopping while keeping her head turned away from the two woman behind her.

A small bitter smile was on her face.

_Finally..._

* * *

Shizuru felt weird, like gentle electricity was tingling her whole body and yet it felt oddly pleasant. There was nothing disturbing about what she was sensing, if anything is was comforting and made her want to redeem herself for anything sinful she may have done throughout her life.

And Shizuru had done a lot of fucked up things.

"Hey, are you okay?" Keiko asked from beside her, but Shizuru continued to look around, desperate to find whatever was pulling these unwanted emotions out of her.

"Shizuru?" Keiko called again just as Shizuru spotted a woman a little taller than her five-foot-seven frame standing in front of the pineapples.

"It's her," Shizuru whispered softly, "don't you feel it Keiko?"

Keiko looked around for a moment before spotting the woman, but the only thing she noticed was how pretty her hair was, but nothing weird.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Keiko whispered urgently as the taller, older woman began to walk forward, a determined and yet almost hypnotized gleam in her brown eyes.

"Excuse me," Shizuru called out to the woman, making her jump slightly and spin around in fright.

But Keiko was soon captured by the woman's beautiful blue-green eyes and how the dark blue and bright green seemed to swirl together separately while creating one complex color.

Her eyes only seemed to pop out more on her natural tanned skin that was enhanced by her straight black hair.

Keiko and Shizuru were both completely entranced by her, and yet they felt nothing threatening, instead feeling safe and far away from all the darkness that weighed their souls down.

The woman smiled, showing a pair of pearly white teeth as she stepped to the side, breaking whatever hold she had on the two woman.

"My apologies, all the pineapples look splendid today and I just couldn't seem to choose one. I didn't mean to hog it all to myself."

Shizuru shook her head, trying to see through the fog in her mind and not focus on the gentle sound of the woman's soft alto voice. Even though she knew that she should have been, she didn't feel panicked or weirded out by what had just transpired.

It was like the woman had somehow erased all Shizuru's fears and worries, and she could tell that Keiko was feeling the same thing due to the widening smile on her younger friends face.

"No, we apologize for scaring you," Keiko said lightly.

The woman tilted her head back slightly and gently laughed even though Keiko hadn't really said anything funny.

"I should have been paying attention," the woman said smoothly as she turned towards the pineapples and after a moment picked one up, but Shizuru noticed the amusement dripping from her words.

It was like she was laughing at her own untold joke.

She turned back around and leveled her eyes on Shizuru's for a moment before looking down at Keiko.

"Are you almost at the end of your first trimester?"

Keiko blinked in surprise and put her hand on her slightly bulging belly.

"Yes, how did you know? My shirt is too big for you to see my stomach."

The woman smiled, but this time without her teeth showing. "A woman can always tell," she said simply but to Shizuru her voiced seemed to have darkened slightly, lowering in result though oddly enough it still didn't alarm her.

But something had seemed to enter the woman's mind, something that made her eyes lose the sparkle that they held moments before. Now she looked how Kurama does when he's thinking of something upsetting.

Or when he's thinking of something that he knows he'll have to do regardless of his emotions.

If not for her experience with the red-headed fox, than she never would have been able to understand the lack of emotion in the woman's eyes and everything that apathy meant.

This woman had a secret and it was a big one.

"Congratulation's on your miracle but I must be going now," the woman said kindly, but Shizuru had a feeling that she shouldn't let her go.

But before she could act the woman was in another part of the store and Shizuru suddenly couldn't feel the electric tingle that was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"That was odd," she mumbled to herself.

She saw Keiko nodding in agreement before they hightailed it out of there.

* * *

Yusuke sighed and rubbed his eyes, feeling like he's already reached old age when he was only twenty-four. For hours he listened to Koenma and the rest of the group think of a plan for finding this missing scroll and the demon who took it. Even Hiei was adding to the conversation, and oddly enough Kurama was as silent as Yusuke.

He never pretended to be a smart guy, hell, he never even reached high school, but he knew his friends and he knew Kurama.

Something very deep was bothering him.

"We're not going to get anywhere sitting around," Yusuke mumbled as he leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed.

Yusuke sighed once more when an argument broke out between Hiei and Kuwabara AGAIN, but this time he had enough.

He was sick of planning, sick of Spirit World, and sick of Kurama moping around. The sooner they ended this bullshit mission, the sooner everything can return to normal.

"Everyone shut the hell up!"

All eyes turned to his irritable form standing against the wall, but no one said a word once they saw the pissed off look on his face.

"Listen up and take my words to heart," he said loudly as he stepped way from the wall. "We literally have nothing to go on and we don't even know where this person can be found. If this is a trap than they will find us, so we're only wasting time. We need to be looking around the city for anything weird instead of talking like a bunch of fucking diplomats. Damn..."

He rubbed his eyes, feeling weary and his mind on Keiko as everyone stared at him before looking around at one another.

"For once Yusuke is right. There is nothing more that we can do except wait and pray that nothing bad happens in the process," Koenma said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'll go back to Demon World and let Mukuro know what is happening. From there we will spread the word to Yomi and your province Yusuke."

Yusuke smiled slightly at the fire demon who had come a long way throughout the years, and not just with his height. "Okay, thanks. It would be best for you to stay on that end and see what you can find."

"Hn," was the fire demon's reply before he disappeared from the room.

"Wow, shorty never hit me as the planning type," Kuwabara mumbled, and for once Yusuke just didn't have the energy to point out that he and Hiei were the same exact height now, not counting his hair.

"I'll let you guys know if I find anything. For now just go on with your everyday lives but be on guard," Koenma said, and without another word Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were heading through a portal and back towards their homes.

Once they landed in the middle of the forest right by Yusuke's part of the property, they each just stood in the night air, noting how nothing had changed yet everything was different.

"Shizuru and Yukina is with Keiko, we should update them," Yusuke mumbled darkly though it wasn't directly pointed at anything in particular.

"What are we going to tell them?" Kuwabara asked as the three men made their way into the clearing and towards Yusuke's red brick house.

"The truth," Kurama said, and together they entered the house with grave faces.

But they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw all three women look up with wide and confused eyes.

"We met the strangest person today," Keiko said, her face looking odd and torn up between concerned and bewildered.

Yusuke felt dread inter his chest as his eyes became wide in terror.

"Did he touch you?" he whispered, panic overtaking Yusuke as he looked over her sitting frame.

"No Yusuke, she didn't touch me. I'm fine," Keiko stuttered as she examined the worried expression on her husbands face.

"She?" Kuwabara questioned.

"What happened today? Tell us about her," Kurama said calmly, recovering first as he stepped further into the living and sat down in the empty recliner.

"Well, we were shopping for groceries at the market down the street when Shizuru got one of her weird feelings."

"Only it wasn't the normal kind. It actually felt comforting and made me want to go to church," Shizuru added with a snort and an unlit cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"It was like Shizuru fell into some weird trace," Keiko continued, "and the next thing I knew she started heading for this really tall woman with black hair. When the woman turned around it's like her eyes...were spinning or something, and then I started to feel weird. But in a...good way."

"What the hell do you mean in a good way? She sounds like a freak," Yusuke said flatly.

"Me and Shizuru both felt like every worry we had was being taken away, and when she stepped to the side and broke...whatever it was, I felt a lot lighter than I did before. After that when we looked her in the eyes all we saw was really pretty blue-green eyes."

"Did she seem like a demon of some sort?" Kurama questioned, obviously back to his normal self.

"No," Shizuru said softly, "she seemed like something else. I got no bad vibes from her. But I'm telling you, I was pulled towards her for a reason and it won't leave me alone."

"Did you get a name? She might be someone who needs our help," Kuwabara asked as he sat down on the floor of a house that he helped create.

Keiko and Shizuru glanced at each other for a moment before shaking their heads.

"No, she just disappeared after guessing about my pregnancy. I didn't even know it was noticeable yet. It was really odd. She was kind and open and then suddenly got all..."

"She looked like Kurama when he's greeting ready to do something ruthless but necessary," Shizuru finished.

Yusuke turned towards Kurama who now had his eyes narrowed in thought.

"Do you think she has something to do with the missing scroll?" Kuwabara questioned.

"I have no idea but we're going to find out. Shizuru, how would you feel if you helped us out for a bit?" Yusuke asked as he turned to the older woman who looked like she was itching to light her cigarette.

Shizuru smirked. "I would be honored."

"Great. Tomorrow we are all going to Genkai's. She might know something useful."

Everyone nodded at Yusuke's words, Shizuru taking that as the end of the conversation as she headed outside.

Yusuke knelt down by Kurama, catching the fox's attention though neither of them looked at each other.

"Any theories yet?" Yusuke whispered.

"A few."

"Good. Let's hope that we're on the right track because I have a feeling that this is going to suck balls."

"Agreed."

* * *

**And this my friend's is just the beginning!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize for the wait. My job has been rough lately and I'm working on getting a better one that doesn't make me work nights.  
**

**I would like to thank Ozzy1313, Sara, LovingTea, Erika Hearken and SakiHanajima1 for your wonderful, beautiful reviews. Also thank you to everyone who has put this story on your favs/alert list =] It means a lot to me, even if you don't leave a review.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

With expressionless eyes she watched the sky, enjoying the feeling of the warmth on her old bones. Others would say that it was a beautiful sight, that there was no foretold warning hidden behind the gentle breeze balancing the sunny and hot day. Others would never taste the bitterness in the air or feel the change in the nature surrounding her.

Genkai however knew better, and as she relaxed on her front porch, cool tea in her old but strong hands, she waited for the group that were currently on their way over to make it to the end of the path that was carved over the years into her forest.

She saw Kuwabara and Yukina first, and an unnoticeable smile turned up one side of the old woman's lips as she watched the small demon giggle at something the big oaf said.

When Yukina was under her protection, she was so obsessed about finding her brother that she would catch the young demon sobbing at night.

Kuwabara eased that pain and made the young ice maiden happy. Genkai would never say it out loud, but Yukina was the daughter she never had and she often worried about her.

She never wanted the cruel world to ruin the gentle heart that the ice-maiden had. Kuwabara was perfect for her for many reasons. She knew that Yukina would be taken care of.

Only moments later Shizuru, Kurama, Keiko and Yusuke made their appearance, and with grave looks they made their way closer to Genkai's temple. Genkai stood up and took note of how Yusuke looked oddly serious and Kurama looked a way she hadn't seen him in years.

She nodded her head, half of the equation figured out.

"Spirit World contacted you with a mission."

Yusuke nodded, his eyes saddening as he glanced down at his tiny wife.

Though it didn't show, Genkai felt sympathy towards her favorite dimwit. He had come a long way and even realized that fighting wasn't as important as he thought it was, but here he was, getting pulled back into it against his will.

But it was Kurama's cold, unfeeling eyes that alarmed the old physic the most. She leveled him with his a stern stare, and noted the dark circles under his eyes as he unblinkingly stared back.

She had notice his counterpart Youko peeking through the older he became, but somehow with it only being a month since she had last seen the busy and successful man, he was looking even more like his demon self. His face had thinned out, his body tall and lean, and the shape of his eyes were more oval and seductive when they used to be rather bright and large.

Shuichi may have left Youko behind, but she wondered if Youko might be pushing his way to the surface the older his human self became -slow and slight, so the dominate half does not notice.

"Let's go inside," she said as she headed the rest of the way up the steps and led the group into the main room.

They all sat in a circle around her table, and once everyone had tea and a few minutes of silence had gone by, Yusuke finally spoke.

"Fifty years ago someone broke into the Spirit World vault, and they just now noticed because their fucking idiots. Now they want us to find this scroll and fix their damn mistake."

Genkai's eyebrows lifted at the mention of a scroll but she said nothing, instead waiting for them to finish before making assessments.

"It's some scroll that can make people insane or something, but something about that makes no sense to me," Kuwabara continued. "Wouldn't someone have noticed by now if this scroll was as evil as they say? Somehow no one had noticed a thing and nothing that we can see has happened."

Genkai narrowed her eyes but still remained silent as she turned her attention to Kurama.

"When watching the tape I noticed that a demon with control over shadows was involved, but he was not the one who stole the scroll. When in shadow form they can't lash out at other people, but they can keep someone else enveloped by the shadows, and they are the ones who do the dirty work."

"Really?" Yusuke said in surprise.

Kurama nodded, his face darkening even more if possible. "I only knew of one person who was so skilled at using shadows that they nearly looked like a discoloration on the wall, and were able to make their partner almost completely invisible. I believe that my old friend Kuronue is somehow involved."

"I thought your friend died when you were still Youko Kurama," Genkai stated gruffly as she took the last sip of her tea.

She had a feeling that this mission was going to be full of layers upon layers. At first she wasn't planning on helping, but seeing how torn up the usually upbeat group was, she was considering a change of heart.

But she was just getting too damn old for this crap.

"I thought so to," Kurama said, his face softening slightly as he averted his eyes.

Yes, this group was going to need a good kick in the ass.

"That's not all of it," Shizuru added much to Genkai's surprise, but she nodded for the older woman to go on regardless.

Genkai listened intently as Shizuru told her of the woman she ran into at the store. It was obvious that it made a big impression on Shizuru and Keiko both, for each of them seemed to be thinking deeply about what happened that day.

Genkai turned towards the window closest to her, her mouth twitching ever so slightly before closing her eyes.

Now she understood.

"Her eyes were spinning," Genkai repeated to herself as she poured some more tea though she was no longer thirsty.

"Hmm, I have never heard of such a thing, but I am pretty sure that she has something to do with the situation. That is why Shizuru felt so drawn to her, and she may have even been calling out to her."

"Calling out to her?" Kuwabara asked as he gave his sister a concerned sideways glance.

Genkai nodded. "I think it would be wise to find this woman if she doesn't seek you out first. We need to at least know if she is involved. If she doesn't feel like a demon or a physic than she may even be the enemy."

"That's what I was thinking," Kurama added.

"Wait," Keiko piped up, speaking for the first time since the meeting started, "I don't think she is the enemy. I may not have high awareness like Shizuru but I don't know...I don't think she would hurt us."

"You never know what people might do Keiko," Yusuke said gently as he wrapped his arm around her, putting his hand on the small bulge on her belly.

"Yeah, if she has something to do with the scroll than she will be capable of anything. It's best that you don't get involved considering your condition."

Keiko glared darkly at Kuwabara, making him gulp and flinch away. "My condition? I'm pregnant not diseased."

"Her reaction to your pregnancy was weird Keiko. I think you need to stay around Genkai when you're not with one of us," Shizuru added, but Genkai noticed her flinch and shift in her seat.

Her hand brushed against her stomach, a worried and almost frightful look entering her eyes, but Genkai pretended that she didn't notice.

"You to Yukina,"Kuwabara said gently and the ice-maiden smiled sadly though she continued to remain silent.

She really had no idea what to say when everyone was so unhappy.

Not too long later Genkai was once more on her porch and watching the kids she watched grow into fine adults head back home.

The Sun was almost down, the air becoming harsh and no gentle breeze was in sight. She felt sweat gather at her brow due to the humidity.

She sighed, suddenly feeling drained as she remained standing out on her porch, her heart clenching tightly in her chest. Every feeling of guilt and fear rose up from the darkest pits of her soul, and though she hid it flawlessly it made her ache in ways unimaginable.

"That was a good performance you put on Genkai. I almost believed you."

Genkai snorted but didn't turn in the direction the soft voice was coming from. She was pissed that this had to happen every time. If she wanted to repent for her mistakes than she would have done so by now.

"I apologize for not being able to tell you everything," the voice said once more.

"I knew you were leaving things out. You don't just go from neurotic to sane over night."

The voice chuckled almost bitterly, sounding a little further away than it did moments before.

"Continue to do what you're doing. Everything will be in the light soon. I can't be revealed yet, not when they won't understand."

Though the intruder gave off no energy signature or any evidence of them ever being there, Genkai knew that they had left when the need to redeem herself was suddenly gone.

She sighed in relief, hating the feeling. She was no saint by any means, but oddly enough neither was the intruder.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

~~W~~W~~W~~

Kurama walked through the Spirit World halls, ignoring the curious and cautious looks as he went. He didn't care if what he was here for was against the rules.

He was already feeling crossed and his tolerance with Spirit World was short because of it. He didn't care if this was against his character or not, but if they tried to stop him from the seeking the information he desired, than he wasn't going to hesitate with his retaliation.

His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw Koenma blocking his path, his hands behind his back and a sad expression on his face as the pacifier in his mouth spun slightly. He could feel Youko stir within him, begging to be released, but his human half suppressed him, remembering that Koenma was a friend of sorts.

But not even a friend was going to get in his way.

"It would be ill-advised to stop me," he said lowly, his tone eerily calm while his eyes flashed dangerously, a sliver of burning gold peeking through.

He saw Koenma swallow and fidget slightly.

"I am not here to stop you. We both know that I wouldn't be able to anyway. I am merely here to escort you and to make sure you don't take anything. You deserve to know about your friend and I...apologize for not making sure that he was dead. It never occurred to me to check."

Kurama's glare lightened up a fraction as he nodded in agreement. He didn't care who came with him and why, all he wanted was to read Kuronue's file. He wanted to know why his friend allowed him to think he was dead. He wanted to know why he didn't come and find him when Kurama had lived so long afterward with the guilt.

They remained silent as they continued on, and with each step Kurama felt his heart becoming heavier and heavier.

Kuronue was his partner in crime, his longest companion, and the person he trusted the most when he was Youko. But Kurama had never trusted anyone and he was often cold towards the playful and warm bat demon. There were times when Kurama was less than pleasant.

Because of his foolish pride he went for a raid without thinking and wasn't able to pull himself and Kuronue out safely. He knew that Kuronue's shadow abilities wouldn't work due to how harsh their last raid was and how low it left his energy in response.

He blamed himself for that and hated himself for not going back to save him when it was his own fault.

Everything was Kurama's fault.

Koenma led him into the room where they kept the information, and silently he followed the deity into another room that turned out to be a small office.

"I had George find the files the moment that we found out he wasn't dead. I knew you would want them.

Kurama nodded in thanks, but was relieved that he didn't have to search the unnaturally huge room. That would have taken too much time, and time was not something that he had to waste.

"I'll just stand out here until you're done," Koenma said before exiting the room and leaving Kurama alone.

The fox demon sighed and sat behind the desk, his heart feeling heavy though his eyes looked colder than a glacier. He truly had no idea how to process the information, and as he began reading he found nothing that soothed his confusion and guilt.

Kuronue was supposed to die, but something had saved him though Spirit World did not know what. Ever since then he had been disappearing and reappearing all over the Makai right after a huge explosion of unidentifiable power erupted, only for the pattern to happen all over again.

The time frame was rocky and random, but if anything the information disturbed Kurama even more.

He shuffled through a few more files up until the Spirit World break in, and saw that throughout all of those years the pattern continued.

"What were you running from?" Kurama mumbled to himself as he stared at the now blurring pages.

None of it made sense and it opened more questions to his already swirling mind. He was always ten steps ahead, but now the tables were turned making him feel as if wool was pulled over his eyes.

He didn't know what to think of this and he hated all the turmoil floating around in his heart and mind.

He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands...before a memory of his last day with Kuronue resurfaced.

_Kurama's tailed flicked out in anticipation as he sat up in the strongest and tallest tree he could find, his territory surrounding him though his eyes were closed in relaxation. _

_His silver ears on top of his head twitched slightly when a familiar energy signature entered his domain, which was followed by a grunt and a sigh of irritation._

"_Must you always sick your plants on me every time?"_

_Kurama opened his golden eyes, an arrogant smirk on his lips as he examined the prey that his beloved plants caught for him._

_"I cannot help it. They want to eat you," he said smoothly._

_Kuronue sighed as the plants let him go, nearly taking off his limbs for they weren't very gentle. He straightened the black hat on top of his head and met his companions eyes seriously._

_Kurama's smirked dropped._

"_I met someone a few days ago."_

_Kurama lifted a single eyebrow as he pushed his silver hair over his shoulder. "What's knew?" he mocked sardonically._

_Kuronue rolled his eyes. "No, I met someone very...interesting."_

Kurama snorted but didn't show any real interest. So far this person sounded like a bore.

"_Is that who you have been sneaking off to see?"_

_Kuronue frowned slightly, his indigo eyes narrowing as he examined the fox demon closely. He could tell that Kurama was becoming bored, the anxiety peaking through and showing through the slight twitching of his tail._

"_It is, but I can see that you want to get on with the raid. I'll tell you after. It has to do with the scroll that __supposedly __drives you insane."_

Instead of listening, instead of caring, Kurama brushed him off, and since he thought he died he never had the chance to hear what he was going to say.

But Kurama knew that it was important and that it had to do with what was happening now. But who was it that managed to catch Kuronue's attention so fully?

And how was it that he knew about the scroll...and said "supposedly" drives you insane?

**~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~**

The wind was harsh and the sky dark, a sign that a storm was brewing in the distance. She watched the black clouds dominate the soft blue, and a bitter laugh left her lips.

Even in nature the dark dominated the light.

A tried sigh left her lips as she took a sip of her now cold tea. Everything was supposed to be balanced, everything was supposed to have a center point, but not everything was how it should be.

She was a prime example of that.

She tucked her leg under her, the faded white bench swing that she was sitting on rocking back and forth due to the wind that was chilling her exposed skin.

It was the perfect setting for what she was planning to do the next day, but it was a bit melodramatic. She really wasn't a fan for cliques.

Finally having enough of the icy air she headed inside, instantly melting and warming from the inside out as she walked through the little hallway where her washing machine sat, and into her living room where a fire was currently roaring in a red brick fireplace.

She had no lights on, each window open at all times to let the Sun light in. But due to the lack of light outside, her living room was lit up by a faint glow which to her was magical. She truly loved her home.

When she first found the house it was merely a two-story colonial farm-house with chipped red paint and a rickety front porch. She fell in love with it instantly and had more than enough money to buy the property and even do necessary renovations.

She gave the house a fresh coat of paint, repaired the front porch and even built a back porch so she could have a different view. The inside was perfect, the living room a comfortable size and the kitchen large with marble tops.

She didn't know how to cook at the time, but she learned over the years and she loved having the room to move around.

The only downside to her farm-house was that there was originally only an outhouse and a small metal tub to bathe in, but she managed to add a modern bathroom upstairs. Unfortunately she had to have someone else come and do that which had her on edge for days, but she enjoyed the pampering that others seemed to take for granted.

Her furniture she got from a thrift store -a wrap around dark brown couch, a small glass coffee table and a decent TV that sat on a wooden entertainment center though she didn't have cable.

But her house was full of living plants, and with the wooden floors her home looked very earthy and simple.

He always said to not get attached, and yet here she was, attached to materials and appliances when in her life she never allowed such a thing. In truth she didn't want to go back to the way things were, always moving and never stopping to enjoy the breeze or watch the sky change from night to day.

"But you do what you have to," she mumbled stoically to herself as she watched the fire flicker, the shadows dancing across her face, making her look innocent in one light and malevolent in the other. It was like she was two different people.

And in a way she was.

* * *

**So obviously I may twist a few thing to make the story work but I hope all of you enjoy anyway. Leave some reviews and see you next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

** I was sitting here bored and decided to post another chapter. Thank you to SakiHanajima1 for your review =] I hope you like this chapter  
**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Yukina hummed softly to herself as she watched the tea boil while occasionally glancing outside at the worsening weather. A small frown formed on her lips as she watched the violent scene outside with worried crimson eyes.

It looked as if the heavens were planning to burst open at any moment, and Yukina always had a connection to nature. She could feel within her soul that something big was going to happen and it left her stomach feeling sour.

"I really don't think today is a good day to roam the city Kazuma," the ice-maiden said softly while keeping her attention on the tea that was almost finished.

She heard him sigh behind her from his place at the table, and she could tell that within his sigh was a silent agreement. With a small frown she finished up the tea and poured them each a cup before sitting in her seat to his right.

He glanced up from the paper work he was currently scanning over and gave her a small but genuine smile that she returned softly.

He sighed once again and sat the papers down before turning his full attention to her.

She just couldn't get over how handsome he became. His dark brown eyes were always full of so much love for her, and his face was strong and well-defined. He was truly the best man the world had to offer in her eyes.

And she hated that it took her so long to understand what her heart was telling her. The ice world that she grew up on was not full of the warm and fuzzy feelings that Kazuma gave her.

"We'll get dressed and then I'll walk you and Keiko over to Genkai's. Yusuke is already out with Shizuru and Kurama. I'm going to meet them in town since I had to finished up with some work."

Yukina nodded and took a sip of her tea, before standing up and heading upstairs so she can change out of her white robe and into warmer clothes. She really didn't need to, but she rather enjoyed the long-sleeved sweaters that Keiko introduced her to.

And it was also nice to forget that she was a demon, not a human that Kazuma could grow old with.

She felt pain hit her heart as she held back the tears.

Sometimes fate was truly cruel.

~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

She leaned back against the closest tree and put a cigarette in between her full lips, her bright eyes cloudy and expressionless as she watched the storm roll in. She was on edge, and the slight frown that flickered on her face every time someone in the park got too close was the only thing that showed her unease.

Hanako was not a woman who enjoyed towns and being around people.

With steady hands she pulled a plain silver lighter out of her leather jacket, and once she had the cigarette lit, she quickly took a deep breath in before removing it from her mouth and blowing out the smoke with bored eyes.

But on the inside her nerves were twitching, emotions filtering throughout her heart and mind so fast that she could barely understand what she was feeling. She drew in the cigarettes sweet poison again, and nearly sighed when she felt the pain in her body ease, allowing her muscles to relax as she settled against the tree a little more.

The only time she smoked was when she was close to slipping and her emotions were a raging storm. She didn't know why, but it always managed to ease her nerves and allow her to think clearly. Since she didn't have to worry about it damaging her health, she didn't see it as a crime.

Right and wrong was nothing but a matter of opinion to her...and it was her actions and thoughts that always had her at a stand still within herself.

She was nothing but one big sin, and being who and what she was it was hard to coexist within herself.

She stiffened up and felt her face tighten when an elderly couple passed by too close for comfort, and with an unheard sigh she took another drag of her cigarette before effortlessly flicking off the ashes.

"How the hell are we going to find this girl? Who knows how many people are in this city. She may not even live here."

"If we see her I'll know, so stop complaining."

Hanako perked up, her head still facing up towards the sky as her eyes awaited for the appearance of the voice's she was hearing.

One of those voices she recognized as the sandy blonde haired woman she met at the market, and once the people she was waiting for came into view, she examined them closely as they walked right by her without giving her a single glance.

The woman looked the same if not a little annoyed by the half-breed that had short black hair and was currently bickering with her. He was strong, that she could tell, but the one that her had her undivided attention was the tallest man with long crimson hair, who had completely stopped walking only a foot away from her as his friends continued on mindlessly.

She immediately felt her curiosity rise as she kept her eyes on the mans broad back. He was a demon and a human, yet he was not quite a half-breed. He was something other...and not only that but he somehow knew that something was off.

Hanako had been around for a long time. If there was anything she knew it was how to show no signs of her presence.

But he could feel her standing there.

"What are you doing Kurama?" the half-breed asked, and Hanako eyes went wide, her head tilting in wonder as she examined the redhead's back even more, almost as if she was examining a new specimen.

She hummed to herself for a moment as she took one more long drag of her cigarette before heading deeper into the park, where the forest was thick and completely secluded.

Things just became even more interesting. She was going to have to play her cards very carefully from now on.

She smirked, a new-found bounce entering her step.

~~~W~~W~~W~~~

Kuwabara slowed his walk as he examined his friends and sister in the distance. He could tell that something was off by the way Kurama was glancing around, his attention focused more solely on the back part of the park where they often would meet up back in their detective days.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" Kuwabara asked, his sister giving him a quick glance while Yusuke continued to follow the fox demon's eyes in alarm.

"Red here said that he feels something really strange though faint. He says that it was right behind us and is moving deeper into the forest, and is leaving a slight trail for us to follow. I don't feel anything though."

"Yeah I don't either," Yusuke mumbled, "but if Kurama says that there is something than we need to check it out."

Kuwabara frowned but nodded, his eyes glancing at his sister again, an uneasy feeling rising up in his stomach. He didn't like that she was here and lately he had been feeling very concerned for her.

He wasn't too sure why, but he knew that there was a reason. There always was.

So unbeknownst to Shizuru he stayed close to her, bringing up the rear and making sure that his sister was in the middle in case something happened. He was careful in the way he moved. His sister hated when he got protective, but he was a master at knowing how to handle Shizuru.

He had to help her husband a few times. His sister was a wonderful woman but she was difficult to get along with at times.

The group was aware of the stares they were receiving as everyone walked passed them to go home due to the weather. Kuwabara knew that they probably looked like an interesting group, if not a group that was up to no good.

But the crowd was gone by the time they reached the outer wood in the very back of the park, and instantly Kuwabara felt his chest burning as the pain threatened to take him off of his feet.

"Someones in trouble!" he screamed as his energy came forth, a bright orange sword forming strongly in his hands as he brushed passed Yusuke and Kurama and took off towards the dark energy he was feeling halfway into the woods.

"What the hell? How is your energy back and stronger than when we were kids?" he heard Yusuke shout from behind him, but Kuwabara didn't turn around, instead pushing himself as fast as his human legs could take him.

He had never felt a pull this strong before in his life, not even when Yukina was in trouble. There was no way he could ignore it even if he tried, and so he continued on, not stopping until he broke through the trees and entered a small clearing that had an invisible cloud of dark energy surrounding it.

He didn't even hesitate long enough to fully register the large spider demon or the black-haired woman kneeling down on one knee in front of it. He charged towards the demon with a deep yell, his eyes serious and burning in rage as he jumped in the air and sliced down.

For a moment all he could hear was the drumming in his ears and the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he stayed in his landing stance, breathing hard and seeing black spots in his vision as the demon fell in pieces behind him.

He flinched when he felt a cool hand touch his shaking arm, but he found himself relaxing, his muscles turning into jello as his sword flickered like a flame burning out.

"Shh, it's okay," he heard a gentle voice whisper in his ear, "it's okay to relax yourself."

And he did until he was merely a puddle on the forest floor.

He turned his head, meeting a pair of blue-green eyes that were watching him in frozen detachment, and yet he saw an ounce of softness and an ounce of sadness lurking within the gaze.

"You must have a lot of pain in your heart," he whispered somberly as his eyes began to flicker shut, but not before he heard a soft chuckle and a woman's voice murmur, "Only a soul as pure as yours could see through me so clearly."

W~~~W~~~W

"That's her," Shizuru whispered as they remained in their spots, too stunned by what they had just witnessed.

Kurama had never seen Kuwabara look so crazed before. He cut through the spider demon without even a second thought or an ounce of guilt. His sword looked almost like flames and his body moved so fast that even Kurama couldn't register what he was doing until it was done.

It was precise, it was deadly, and Kuwabara's energy came back full swing and stronger than ever.

And it was all because of the black-haired woman kneeling beside his overexerted body.

Kurama reached his hand into his hair as he watched the woman carefully, everything about her crouching form being cover by the long certain of pitch black straight hair.

Not even Yusuke could find the words to say as the two demons stood in front of Shizuru who was watching the woman in confusion while trying to push her way closer.

Kurama saw it in slow motion as the wind picked up almost violently, the black hair that was hiding her from view being pulled to the side as she slowly stood. Her movements were silky and relaxed, like she didn't care that Kurama and Yusuke were ready to attack her if she even moved.

She looked unconcerned and unafraid.

But than her eyes met his and he watched in a sick fascination as they began to spin, and somehow it was like she was standing right in front of him instead of a few feet away.

He could see the green and blue mingling with each other, one light and one dark and yet having to coexist inside of one place. It looked as if the colors were separate and yet one color all at the same time.

The hand in his hair twitched downward at the realization of how much that imagery resembled his own internal issues.

"Holy shit," he vaguely heard Yusuke whisper from beside him as he lowered his spirit gun, obviously loosing all desire to use it...and then Kurama understood why.

It started off as a small echo in the back of his head, with voices that he could not reach and understand though he knew they were there. It was like he could feel all the darkness in his heart and soul lift up to the surface and there was a need to redeem himself, to just let the pain and anger float off into this mysterious woman's eyes.

He thought of his mother and how he had cheated her of a normal son, though she did not know it. He thought of Kuronue and how he left him for dead...

But then she blinked and everything he was feeling flung back inside of the boxes he locked them away in, and it nearly took him off of his feet. But he seemed to hold himself together better than Yusuke who literally fell back and had to be balanced by Shizuru.

"I felt it to," she whispered into their ears, and Kurama detected a slight shaking in her voice.

"Is there a reason why we have crossed paths?"

The woman's voice was soft, and Kurama blinked as he tried to regain focus. But he found himself tracing the curves of her high cheekbones and watching the way her hair moved like silk in the wind as her long legs carried her gracefully closer to them.

She looked Native American due to her facial structure and tan skin, but there was something about her appearance that told him that she was something else.

There was something he could see within her eyes that alarmed him. There was an unnatural amount of apathy.

"Yeah actually," Yusuke spat, and slowly her eyes moved from Kurama to Yusuke, a delicate black eyebrow raising as she cocked her head to the side.

"We'll then," she said slowly, "tell me what it is I can do for you."

"Have you ever heard of a scroll that drives people insane? And what the hell is up with your eyes? Do you have some sort of eye disease?"

The woman gave no reaction for a moment before a small smile formed on her, until then, overly stoic face.

"Am I actually being interrogated?" the woman laughed bemusedly, the coldness in her eyes melting away and making her look like a different person entirely.

"Uh," Yusuke mumbled, and Kurama could see the younger demon turn to him for help. He was obviously very confused by this woman.

That made the two of them.

"We would just like you to answer the question ma'am," he said politely and as controlled as ever.

But when the woman met his eye it was like her expression darkened a fraction, her eyes moving from his own and to the hand that was still inside of his hair.

"I don't know of such a scroll and my eyes are naturally this color," she said evenly, her tone holding no more amusement, instead sounding slightly offended.

"Eye color...what does that have to do with any damn thing?" Yusuke nearly shouted as he scratched his head in confusion.

Kurama pulled a seed out of his hair and held it in his hand at his side.

"Okay, get out of my way," Shizuru said as she pushed passed Yusuke and marched her way over towards the woman and her brother.

The two men followed after her, and watched as the woman also turned around and headed back towards his passed out body, walking beside Shizuru who didn't even seem to mind the woman's presence.

To Kurama being around her was nothing was unsettling.

"He is fine, he just used too much energy at once. I was quite surprised. He came out of nowhere," the woman said gently as she knelt down beside Kuwabara's sleeping body.

"That's my baby bro, never thinking," Shizuru joked and the woman chuckled for a moment before her face fell in a look of shame.

"It's a good thing that he came though," she said quietly, "that demon would have eaten me for sure."

"Why was a demon after you?" Yusuke asked as he bent down so he could put Kuwabara on his back.

The woman sighed. "I don't know. Here lately I've noticed some odd activity going on and I went to check it out. It seems like this is the spot where they...spawn I guess you could call it. I think they are looking for something."

"Maybe this has to do with the scroll," Yusuke grunted as he stood up while making sure that Kuwabara wasn't going to fall.

"I don't know," the woman said, "I can sense demons and other people like me, but I have no offensive power. Normally I don't go looking for what I'm sensing but...I'm curious by nature."

Kurama narrowed his eyes when she meet his glare at the end of her sentence.

"How is it that we can't sense you?" Kurama questioned evenly but the darkness in his stare said it all.

He didn't trust a single word she said.

"My mother was also like me. Since the moment I have been born I have been practicing hiding myself. It would be an inconvenience if I attracted demons and other people with spiritual energy when I wouldn't be much against them. The most I could do is put up a barrier."

"Well then, it wasn't very smart for you to go demon hunting then, now was it?"

The woman chuckled and met Yusuke's eyes almost shamefully. Kurama briefly noticed that she was just a little taller than the ex-spirit detective.

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

"What's your name? I didn't get a chance to ask the first time we met."

The woman smiled. "Hanako. Hanako Kobayashi."

"I'm Shizuru, this punk carrying my brother Kazuma is Yusuke, and the broody redhead over there is..."

"Kurama," he smoothly interrupted.

"Right," Shizuru mumbled as she gave him a very curious glance.

Normally he would want people to know him by his human name, but he didn't trust that this woman wouldn't hurt his family. His instincts were against everything she claimed was true.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, if there is anything that I can do to help just let me know."

"Sure," Yusuke added with a shrug, "I was actually wondering if you would like to go visit a friend of ours. She is an old physic and would probably be able to put pieces together with what you have figured out."

Kurama gave Yusuke a quick glance over and noticed how is he was eying her with a bit of suspicion as well. He met Kurama's stare, and both men knew that they were on the same page.

Something was off about her.

The woman frowned. "Do I have a choice? I'm going to be honest, I'm not comfortable heading to a place I don't know with people I don't know."

"Don't worry. No one will hurt you without a reason. As long as you're being honest than you don't need to be scared," Shizuru added as everyone began to walk out of the back of the park, the air becoming icy as it began to mist.

Kurama remained in his spot, waiting for the woman to walk passed him so he can keep an eye on her.

But she didn't walk passed him, instead stopping right by his shoulder and looking up to meet his cold gaze as the others continued on.

"You don't have to be concerned. You can put away that seed now," she said mockingly, her voice sending shivers down his spine as he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

She smiled, looking like a predator baring its fangs before brushing passed him...and leaving a very familiar scent behind.

_Kuronue..._

Kurama was frozen in his spot, no longer caring about the woman and her arrogant smile as she walked away.

* * *

**Anyone else think that Hanako is playing some serious mind games with Kurama? Hmm, I wonder why?  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A:N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. I've had problems at work, my friend's house burnt down and my time has been consumed by the holiday stuff as well. I just haven't had the time to write and edit because when I'm home I'm asleep due to exhaustion. This story will not just be dropped. Also, if Kurama seems out of character to you than I apologize, but keep in mind that he has been denying his demon half for years and has been living as a human, found out that his old partner who he thought he left for dead was still alive and somehow involved . And then there is Hanako who doesn't plan on making it easy for him as you'll see in this chapter. If you don't like it than okay, but don't flame me.  
**

**But anywho, thank you to SakiHanajima1, jenibearrr, InkedCupcake92, Sara and Ozzy1313. I hope all of you are happy with this chapter =]  
**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

His eyes were narrowed into two dangerous red slits as he examined the map that was presented to him by Mukuro's lead scout. The snake demon had been very busy indeed, and Hiei felt himself becoming more and more agitated as he read further into the notes and squiggle lines that the snake drew.

Being a convict himself, he knew that this had some sort of connection to the scroll. He didn't believe in coincidences.

He roughly snatched up the paper with his bandaged hand, and left his private study with long and quick steps. He ignored the demons he passed in the halls, and ignored the continuous glares that he always received by the politicians.

It was no secret that the fire demon detested each one. He made that clear when Mukuro first won the tournament. None of them said a word to him due to the fact that he lets his sword do his own talking.

It always resulted in a very...undesirable ending. For them anyway.

"We have a problem," he stated gruffly as he pushed open two large double doors and with his dirty boots stomped across the expensive looking white fur carpet.

He ignored the gasps of surprise and horror by the other patrons in the room. Instead he focused solely on an irritated blue eye, that was watching his feet as he walked in disdain.

"What is that I can do for you Hiei?" she asked sarcastically before moving her eyes up to meet his.

He grunted before slapping the paper down on her desk and crossing his arms as he watched her movements intently. Though she had on her poker face due to the others within her space, Hiei knew her well enough to see the look of concern form on her face before smoothing over.

"I see," she said calmly before rolling the paper up and raising her head. "Everyone leave. We will continue this meeting in an hours time."

The council members quickly flung from their seats, carefully avoiding Hiei who refused to move for any of them. Once the door was shut and no other ears could hear their words, Mukuro dropped the ruler act and allowed her frown to form as she ran a long-fingered hand through her wild red hair.

"How are the spider demons getting through the patrol that Yomi's provenance is conducting?"

Hiei uncrossed his arms and allowed himself to plop down in the seat across from her desk.

"There is either a breach or a trader. Your spy wasn't able to get that close."

"Hmm," Mukuro hummed to herself before silence fell over them.

It looks like a trip was going to be made to Gandara. There was trader among them and Hiei and Mukuro were going to find out who.

They better pray while they can.

~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

Kurama's head was spinning as his feet moved him forward, his mind so far away that if he were someone else he would be tripping, bumping into people. and missing his stops as they moved on and off trains since they left their vehicles at home.

When he ran into someone he knew he managed to greet them politely, but his friends could tell that something was up as they lead the woman who caused Kurama to fall into this state to the old psychic Genkai. When Kurama wasn't lost in his overbearing thoughts that sounded more like screams, he was watching the woman walking ahead of him, her steps oddly confident for someone being led into the unknown.

Every other breeze was sending Kuronue's faint scent to him like a slap in the face, and to make matters worst she seemed to be charming his friends who were slowly but surly getting more comfortable with her.

The worst one was Kuwabara, who woke up and began treating her like he had known her his whole life. It was odd, even Shizuru who was untrusting of everyone seemed at ease enough to talk to her comfortably and even split a few smiles.

Yusuke who managed to have a small amount of distrust seemed to not see her as the threat that Kurama did. The half-breed kept an eye on her, but was as nice as he could possibly be and was even cracking some jokes, which she laughed at softly though she didn't say much herself.

Kurama saw through her lies. He saw every fake smile and laugh. He noticed every time she spoke her words were careful, only giving enough away to ease their curiosity but not giving away the actual answer.

She didn't fool him, and he was going to make sure that she answered his questions. Or else.

By the time they approached the temple steps leading up to Genkai's house, Kurama was anxious and ready to hear what one of the most powerful physics of all time had to say. If anyone could see through this woman it was Genkai.

He was ready to find out just who she is and why and how she had his old friends scent on her.

"So Hanako, how old are you?" Kuwabara asked, the very first question that he had bothered to ask her besides her name.

"26," the woman she easily as they began to climb the long staircase.

"Wow, you're a little older than us...besides Kurama. He's pretty old."

"Kuwabara," Kurama hissed smoothly as each head turned to face him in the back.

He hated that his friends held a look of surprise while the woman met his eyes with boredom. Couldn't they see past her lies? Couldn't they see that they were almost at the top of the stairs and she wasn't even winded?

"Relax Kurama. She's not going to hurt us," Kuwabara said lightly.

The snort the old fox demon wanted to let out caught in his throat, just like all the other things that he wanted to say. He almost felt like a kit again, back in the days when he couldn't contain himself and acted off of his emotions.

It only further enraged him to know that it was this lying woman who was causing this internal turmoil to form in the deepest pits of his soul.

But that turmoil only turned into something more fierce when Genkai met them halfway...and looked the woman up and down before raising an eyebrow, a comfortable familiarity flashing across her face as she looked the woman calmly in the eye.

"Hanako, what did you do this time?"

No one was expecting that, and it showed on the surprised expression that each member of the group was wearing.

"You know Hanako?" Kuwabara asked lightly, a small amount of excitement showing in his voice at what that meant.

Kurama narrowed his eyes when Genkai gave the younger psychic an offhanded glance, her brown eyes hard, knowing and a little sympathetic before she turned her attention back to the woman .

"When they said old physic I didn't think they meant you," the woman said calmly, "small world," she added smoothly as she brushed her long dark hair over her slim shoulder.

With golden tinged eyes Kurama watched her movements almost earnestly, before snapping his eyes away and getting a tight grip on himself. He could feel Youko stirring within, begging to be released so strongly that he was almost overpowering his human half.

He had never felt that before, and it only gave him more reasons as to not trust this woman. Had he been his normal self he would have noticed the blue-green eyes watching in mirth as he fought to contain his demon half, and the aged brown eyes watching him in mild curiosity as his mask that was void of emotions faltered for a moment.

"Why don't we head inside and you can explain to me what is going on. Keiko and Yukina just finished dinner," Genkai said gruffly, turning on her heel and completely aware of every step Hanako was making behind her.

She couldn't help but to be. That was something that the group, mainly Kuwabara, was going to understand very soon.

This group was about to be tested like they never had before. For once there was nothing that Genkai could do to help, and for a moment her worry showed on her aging face. It disappeared before anyone could witness just how helpless she felt.

She had always been a woman of secrets.

Keiko, Yukina and Shizuru served dinner in silence, but the only ones to eat were Kuwabara and Yusuke. Still, no one spoke, each person watching as the two of them shoved their faces like the world wasn't in danger.

"Are they always so carefree?" Hanako asked in a amusement as Shizuru who was sitting next to her scoffed before hitting her younger brother hard on the head.

"Hey!" he shouted loudly, Yusuke snorting in response and making some chicken fall out of his mouth as he choked on his laughter.

"Charming," Shizuru muttered.

"Yusuke Urameshi, close your mouth!" Keiko screeched in disgust, and for a moment the air was light.

But the thunder shook the earth outside, the skies finally not able to hold on any longer, and suddenly the group remembered that Hanako was not quite a friend.

In truth they knew nothing about her.

"Hanako, how about you explain to me what is going on since my old apprentice felt the need to bring you here," Genkai offered as she took a sip of her tea.

And she did, every word matching what she had told the group earlier. Her words were sure, confident and full of emotion as she spoke, but the occasional smug glance that she would pass the fox was not left unnoticed by him.

With each word his friends were swayed by her, but with each glance she sent to him he began to realize that she was targeting him. She wanted him to see what she wanted him to see, and she left everyone else in the dark of her true nature by feeding them lies.

Even Genkai, who at times made him feel like a kit all over again, was swayed by this woman, merely shaking her head and sipping tea like she had known this woman her whole life.

That didn't sit well with Kurama.

"Well Hanako, you might as well join us since you are already involved. Your defensive powers can come in handy. These boys don't know how to take cover and dodge."

There were shouts due to the insult, but none against Genkai's offer.

Even Kurama remained silent, his attention focused solely on the woman who obviously was scheming something.

"You are all welcomed to stay here until the rain lets up, but I'm retiring for the night," were Genkai's last words before slowly standing up and exiting the room.

Everyone seemed to excuse themselves, each going their separate ways due to the busy day. But Kurama watched as the woman gracefully moved across the room to the front door before stepping outside.

He had no intentions on allowing her any peace.

He followed after her, his eyes narrowed but void of all emotions as he stepped on the porch, and quickly closed the door behind him as his eyes landed on her tall form that carelessly had its back to him.

"What are you up to?"

The woman didn't flinch at his dark tone of voice, or even bother to turn around at all. It plucked his nerves how arrogant she was, to have her back turned towards an enemy like no harm could come to her, like he was no threat.

"What is it that you think I am up to fox? It is quite apparent that you do not trust me. I wonder why. I have done nothing to deserve such treatment from you."

Outwardly his demeanor did not change, but his insides were churning with the dislike that was quickly shifting over to hatred.

He could hear in her polite voice that she was mocking him. The hurt, confusion, and defensive texture that it was laced with were worst than if she were to flat-out laugh.

"Stop with the innocent act. Do not play these childish games with me," his deepening voice warned, Youko finally coming to the surface as his anger weakened his control on his demonic side.

This caught the woman's attention, but when she turned around there was no fear or worry. Her eyes held little to no emotion at all, an empty void with everything hidden deep within.

"Games?" the woman's voice said smoothly, just as emotionless as her eyes. "Take a good look at yourself _fox, _and tell me, who's the one playing games? Who's the one that's pretending to the point that even they believe their foolish lies?"

The woman's narrowed eyes deepened. "What I want to know is why you remain silent to your friends. Is there perhaps something that you don't wish for them to know? I can't imagine what it could be that's stopping you."

This time she didn't coat her voice in surgery sweet emotions, instead allowing her dislike for him to come forth so strongly that it took Kurama by surprise.

She didn't just dislike him, she _**hated **_him and was letting him know up front without any illusions.

"You smell like him, why?"

His voice had softened, his mind and heart unsure of how to take this woman and her odd behavior. He didn't understand why she would single him out and hate him like she even knew who he was. He didn't understand what she was after.

The anger quickly drained from her face and instead left a darkness that throughout the day hadn't been on her face once. It was like he was looking at another person all together; a person who was torn, cold, and held a lot of secrets.

"Answer me. You may have everyone else fooled but I see through your lies, so stop playing these games and tell me what you're up to and why you smell like Kuronue!" he demanded, and he watched and waited as she slid her eyes away from him and proceeded to stare out into the forest, almost like she was waiting for something.

"Nothing is ever how it seems, when everything unravels at the seams, and old friends we never think of or see, come back to haunt our memories, right along with our enemies," she spoke quietly, so quietly that Kurama almost hadn't heard her words.

Do to the sad and bitter tone to her voice, he had a feeling that she wasn't talking to him and it made him wonder why she repeated those words to herself.

"You will find out soon enough," she said more loudly without looking at him, "but you will never know if you fill your friends heads with your mistrust of me. I will tell you this, I am not here to hurt anyone of them. If I was than Genkai would not have allowed me to stay here. Remember that fox, and keep out of my way."

She turned on her heel and headed towards the door while Kurama stayed in his spot, her insolence behavior and his torn heart freezing him in time as he absentmindedly watched the rain pour down in streams.

She said nothing more as she left him alone, but her words were churning around in his head...and he hated that there was some truth to them.

~~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

With narrowed eyes he watched from the shadows as the spider demons walked back and forth, their multiple red eyes sticking out on their dark gray bodies. The smell of death and rotting bodies was strong along with the smell of old blood and body fluids.

Still he waited, his body still and stiff as he watched just as he had been for the last fifty years.

"We still don't know where she is, but there was an incident. One of our brothers was killed."

The crowd went silent, the spiders listening intently as a shadowed figure stepped up, his dark red eyes holding nothing but an empty void that only reflected his heart.

"But we will find her, for I am sure that she is connected in some way. My contacts working the border control will no doubt be found out soon, so we must pull back and do what our kind do best. Wait until she completely exposes herself, because soon enough her and her bat companion will have no choice."

The crowd began to cheer in blood lust, their hairy bodies shivering in hunger, making the demon hiding within the shadows scowl in disgust as his chest tightened in hatred.

"With that said, I believe that you men deserve a little snack," their leader shouted, his deep voice shaking the earth as he yanked his large hand forward, pulling a figure that was hidden behind him out into the open.

"No, please!"

The creatures shouting became louder as they stared with wide hungry eyes at the crying child who wasn't even of a mature age yet. He felt vile rise as the spider began to fight one another in their attempts to get to the poor little girl who happened to wonder a little too far.

She was but a low-level demon, who obviously had never been given a chance in life.

Having enough he sunk deeper into the shadows, allowing his body to flow through the earth until he was far enough away from where the spider clan was currently hiding in the deepest pits of the Makai.

He arose, the breath he was holding releasing like a huff as he looked up at the faint yellow moon that was barely visible against the dark purple sky, his chest heaving as he bent down onto one knee.

It was almost time.

With his mind made up he went into the shadows once more, but this time he went in the opposite direction. He was needed elsewhere.

_I'm coming Mahalin, just hang on._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven**

He watched the bathroom door intently, an analytical expression on his face as he listened to the bath tub turn on full blast along with the sink. He had been vaguely noticing these things, but until this moment had pushed them aside.

Faintly he could hear Shizuru gag, and around that time the toilet would flush and silently he kicked himself for not noticing earlier that something was going on.

What alerted him was her sudden distracted and aloof behavior. Now he was noticing things that must had been going on for quite a while. When he called Kazuma even he seemed distracted, leaving the man in an even more confused state.

He stiffened up when the bathroom door opened, and for a moment he allowed his eyes to trail down his wife's long body that was only covered by his white t-shirt, his eyes staying longer on her belly as he noticed it was more meaty than normal.

"Shizuru," he cooed softly as he continued to watch her from their bed, the only light in their room coming from the doorway of the bathroom as she walked back over to him, a small frown on her usually inexpressive face.

"Ichiro, why are you up so early?"

He was silent for a moment as she crawled in the bed next to him, smelling strongly of mint toothpaste. How long had this been going on?

"I heard you get up," he said calmly, "and I want to know why you were throwing up."

Normally he would have found a more tactful way to approach the situation, but he could tell that she was hiding things from him again. It was just like the time when he first hired her and she had to take days off without any real excuse.

If he wouldn't have already fallen in love with her than she would have been fired, but they hadn't had a problem with secrecy for a long time.

But it was apparent by the way Shizuru flinched away from him that he maybe shouldn't have asked the question with a demand. He however remained in his spot and waited for the blow out that was sure to come.

But when she lurched forward, letting out everything that remained in her stomach on to their wooden floor, Ichiro realized that whatever it was she was hiding was big and had to do with her health.

"Shizuru, what's wrong?" he said softly as he put on his glasses by the edge of the bed and began to rub her quivering back.

"I'm pregnant."

The soft-spoken choked word had him stopping in his tracks, even as she took off towards the bathroom like the devil was at her heels.

~~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

He was vaguely aware of the soft whispers trying to wake him up, but the images behind his eyes were too compelling and disturbing for any refuge to be found. Blood, screaming, crying, harsh laughter; he only saw and heard flashes, none of which held a pattern or made any sense.

All he knew was the aching sensation pulling at his soul. He knew something needed his protection...but what was it he was seeing? What did he feel so protective over?

"Kuwabara, you're dreaming again."

He woke with a startled jolt, but quickly calmed when he saw the soft crimson eyes which belonged to his beloved. She always gave him solid ground when he felt like he was in danger of slipping. He hadn't been getting much restful sleep, and when he was awake he met up with Yusuke, Kurama or Hanako for usual patrols.

That had been protocol for a few weeks since they had all found out about the spider demons and Hanako. He rather liked the woman and he honestly could not understand why Kurama refused to be around her. Wherever she was, he was somewhere else, and often they would split into two and go at different times.

They however had found nothing amiss. The calm before the storm. Kuwabara knew that his dreams were a warning, but he kept them to himself. It was almost like he couldn't speak of it.

Unless he were alone with Hanako.

"I'll make you some tea. Yusuke called and said that today it will be you and Hanako patrolling. I guess he had to do something with work and he's going to patrol with Kurama later on instead of you doing the late patrol."

It wasn't too long that Kuwabara was driving away in his silver sports van, rubbing his face in exhaustion. When he pulled into the parking lot that had been their meeting place for the few weeks since they gained a lead, he stayed in his vehicle for a moment. He was instantly aware of Hanako who was leaning against the hood of her car, puffing on a cigarette as she ignored the people who passed by.

He noticed that she wasn't very colorful, always wearing solid colors, and a large leather jacket that must have belonged to an important male in Hanako's life at one point. Kuwabara wasn't too sure why he thought that, but he knew he was right.

Just like he knew that she was a very sad person who has felt a lot of pain in her life.

He exited his car, Hanako throwing her cigarette on the ground when the spotted him. She gave him a small smile, and he noticed that her smiles were always just a slight twist to the corners of her mouth. He wondered if she had ever smiled a real smile before.

"Hey Hanako. Where do you want to go today?"

There was talk about when looking in Hanako's eyes something strange happening, but when Kuwabara looked in Hanako's eyes he just saw endless amounts of pain, regret, suffering, fear, and so many more thing that it was like an endless ocean.  
**  
"Only a soul as pure as yours could see through me so clearly."**

That was what she had said to him before he had passed out. He was determined to find some answers, but not because he did not trust her. No, he trusted her more than what seemed normal since she was so cryptic and silent.

Kuwabara however did not seem to notice the unnatural bond they seemed to share or the hold she had on him.

"I was thinking that we do things a little...differently this time," Hanako's soft alto voice said before she opened her car door and nodded for Kuwabara to get in on the other side.

And he did without questioning her on her motives or even wanting to. He was curious, but he learned rather fast that she won't answer a question fully if you ask.

Hanako took off quickly, going back the way he came until they were once more out of the city.

"The spiders are not confined to the city that we have been searching. They would expect us to continue to look there, but I don't think that is where they would be hiding," Hanako finally spoke, "and there is more that we need to be searching for. The spiders are only the top layer."

Kuwabara was confused when she turned off the main highway that would take them to Genkai's and instead took a back road that would take them to the middle of nowhere. She hummed softly to the song playing on the radio like she did this often.

"Were you going to do this with Yusuke if he didn't get caught up at work?"

Hanako was silent for a moment, her eyes trained in front of her in an almost dream like state.

"No," she finally said, her voice no more than a whisper. "You are the only one who trust me, and in return I trust you."

~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

Kurama had been taking the few weeks away from the woman named Hanako so he could not only steady himself, but so he could dig up information on her, Kuronue, the scroll, the spiders, and any thing that might make some sense in the puzzle that was quickly becoming their mission.

Koenma was willing to allow him some free rein do to the situation and his desperation to get the scroll back, and Kurama often spent his free time watching the video of the vault break in and pulling out information that had been ignored over the years. He found little to none on the White Sorceresses, but he did find one very, very interesting thing.

There is no person by the name of Hanako Kobayashi that fits the woman they had met.

Kurama fought against himself, but in the end decided to keep that information to himself, for now. Yusuke often told him of his patrols with Hanako, and it was obvious that even the half-demon had a liking towards her. The woman was an enigma who held a lot of secrets that he wanted to know.

So Kurama turned his research to the spider demons, having no choice but to wait for more information about the woman to appear.

The spider demons are a rare and very dangerous species that hide in the deepest and nastiest pits of the Makai. They are always angry, almost insane in their rage and very instinctual. The only one's who held any common sense was the King spider demon who held control over his people, like mind slaves.

He pieced together that were after the scroll, which means that it is right under the groups nose.

But how near them is it?  
**  
**_She knows something. It is not a coincidence that she appeared the same day the spiders did. What is she after...I have no choice but to play along for now._

Kurama had a sinking suspicion that she not only had a hand in the missing scroll, her connection to Kuronue proved that, but she was also leading them to something.

He did not trust the woman in the least, but there were too many missing pieces for him to make judgment about the scroll. Why would his partner be involved in something that would destroy the Earth? He loved to steal, but he was always a carefree and easy-going demon who just liked to have fun.

Either Koenma was really just as clueless, or someone was leaving out some very important information.

And so Kurama decided to play the woman's rules. He knew that in due time, her lies were going to come into the light. He would just have to be patient until them.

~~~W~~W~~W~~

"Um Hanako, why are we parked in the middle of nowhere?"

Kuwabara watched as she exited the car, her eyes trained on the thick forest and setting sun behind it.

"We must walk," she said calmly, and together they entered the forest.

There was no path to follow, but Hanako's steps were sure and fluid. Kuwabara could see the cold concentration on her face, and the more further they entered the forest the more pained her expression became.

With almost shaky hands she pulled out a cigarette and took a long and deep drag, before letting out a shuttering sigh.

"What's wrong?" Kuwabara couldn't help but to ask as he watched her form become rigid with stress.

Hanako chuckled. "You and your pure soul," she mumbled, and he still didn't know what that meant. "Tell me," she added a little louder, "what were you told about this scroll and the legend behind it."

"Well, we were told that this woman, a White Sorceress or something like that, fell in love with this demon and they created some monster kid that I guess went crazy, so the mom infused her soul in a scroll and took the child with her. They say the scroll makes whoever is near it insane which is why we need to find whoever has it before they destroy the world."

Hanako took another drag of her cigarette and chuckled though it was bitter and dry. And sad. Kuwabara could almost feel it like it was his own.

"Hanako, are you keeping something from us? If you're in trouble we will help you," he finally said, as they entered a rather large and almost random clearing in the forest.

Kuwabara blinked in surprise as he was suddenly hit with a sudden sickness. He fell to his knees, vile threatening to rise at the sudden dark presence. It was like he was standing on a battle ground where the most violent murders took place. Though the ground was lush green, it was permanently stained underneath with innocent blood. There would forever be a black cloud on this large piece of land.

There were no animals anywhere around. Even they could feel the darkness that still lurked underneath.

"It's overwhelming, the anger and death that still looms here. Thousands of years later. But there is something here that we need, that will give you some truth to stand on instead of speculation."

Kuwabara stood up, but did not move any further as Hanako stepped forward, her cigarette getting crushed in her hand. It seemed like this place affected negatively, and her face almost seemed twisted and deranged, her eyes narrowed and swirling with unseen emotion.

"It's hidden, unseen for eyes that are not supposed to see. Unfortunately...I am not capable of finding it for I am too tainted in soul. Kuwabara," Hanako said more strongly as she turned to face him,"close your eyes and let your senses go. You have a pure soul full of nothing but love and compassion. You have to find what I can not. She will allow only a worthy soul to find her secrets."

Kuwabara was confused, but he did as she said regardless. He took a deep breath until the darkness seemed far from his mind. Underneath the haze of violence he could feel peace, innocence, love...and hope.

"I feel it. Something is pulsing," he whispered as he began to move, his eyes opening as he ran passed Hanako and started to dig aggressively with his hands. He froze when he saw a leather-bound book, that looked too old and fragile to move and yet was still in mint condition.

Pure energy radiated from the book and warmed the hand he held it with. It gave him a sense of peace and serenity. It was like someone was caressing him, surrounding him in love and approval.

"This is what we came here for?"

"Yes."

He opened the first page but was unable to read the writing inside. He had never seen the language before.

"You knew this was here," he summed up. He was never the smartest guy around but he was not as stupid as everyone thought he was. Just shortsighted at times.

"Take this to your boss. Don't tell anyone about this place, don't tell anyone that I had led you here, you patrolled alone because I could not make it. This is to be kept between us. You are to say that you felt something strange in the woods, and while the enemy escaped you found this instead."

Kuwabara glanced up from the book in his hands and met Hanako's gaze.

And then he agreed without another word, just as she knew he would before he followed her out of the forest and back to where they came.

But not before Hanako turned around once more, her hand above her heart and gripping the silver chain around her neck.

_Someday mother, I hope you can forgive me. Maybe this...will redeem me in your eyes, for I will never be what you had hoped. I am sorry..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter eight**

"Can anybody read this? I'm staring to get a damn headache."

Koenma did not reply, instead continuing to stare at the black leather-bound book sitting innocently on his desk.

"Kuwabara...you have no idea what you have found. No one has ever been able to find..."

"You keep repeating that! Finish your god damn sentence!" the aggravated half-demon screamed.

Finally the Spirit Ruler moved his eyes away from the book only long enough to glare at the loud mouthed demon that had come a long way from the loud mouthed delinquent he had met all of those years ago.

"Koenma, what is it that Kuwabara came across?" Kurama asked, his curiosity starting to pick at him.

"This is the writing of a White Sorceress. This must be some journal. Kuwabara, you may have just solved a very great unknown."

"Awesome. Now let's find someone to read the damn thing."

Koenma once more rolled his eyes at Yusuke's impatience, while Kuwabara seemed oddly subdued and serious. He had hardly said a word since he set the book on Koenma's desk, and explained how he came across it.

"I should be able to translate most of it," he mumbled as he sat down at his desk and finally opened the journal.

It was silent as he thumbed through it, obviously looking for something that had to do with their current situation.

"Oh my goodness," Koenma mumbled, Boton peeking over his shoulder in confusion.

"What is it sir?" she asked softly.

_"Today I ventured too far from my fair village. The barrier of which keeps out those too tainted to enter no longer shielded me," _he read softly,_ "and I had met a man. He was beautiful, but the blood-red eyes of which he had spoke to me of the black blood in his veins. This man fell to his knees at the sight of me, too dark and evil to withstand the purity of which I am made up of. This man was full of hatred and spilled blood. His soul was that of the one we do not speak of. The ultimate sin. He said in a deep voice that sent fear down my spine, "Woman, what is this magic?" My response. "A reflection of your soul." And I watched as he was forced to confront his sins. He weeped in his guilt and I felt pity for a monster."_

The room was silent as they listened to the powerful words that Koenma was translating. He paused for a moment, flipping through a few more pages before he looked up at the three men in front of him.

"This belongs to the White Sorceress that created the scroll. This should have the answers that we need."

"Well, then let's jump to what we need to know and you can read it all later."

Koenma nodded at Yusuke's words, this time not minding his impatience, and silence fell over the room once more as he flipped through the book, scanning each page before he froze once more and shook his head in confusion.

"No, this makes no sense," he mumbled to himself.

"What is it?" Kurama asked, his chest clinching tightly for he knew something was about to be revealed.

_"They said that the child I bore is that of a demon, a sin, the ultimate evil, but I do not believe. Yes, my child has mixed blood but I can not hate her for what the fates have done to her. For what I have done to her; to me. Her fate is her choice, and I shall guide her in the right direction for I am still free enough of sin to show her the way. I will hide from him, for he who stole my heart is evil and I a fool. My Flower will blossom and lean towards the Sun, not the darkness of which he thrives. But I know he hunts for me, and I will not allow my Flower to be consumed by darkness. When the time comes, I must think of a way to save her from him and from the part of him that resides in her. For now she is stable, but only because of the pure aura I keep around her. I am afraid...that without me and my sisters she will fall. But I have a plan. When he comes, I will be ready and she will escape his hold."_

"Holy shit. So that story you told us was wrong," Yusuke said after a moment of stunned silence.

"It looks like it," Koenma said with a sigh.

"Her plan must have been the scroll. Is there anything more after that?" Kurama added as he crossed his legs in the chair he was sitting in.

"There is one small paragraph. It says, _"My daughter shows a love of nature; flowers being her favorite. I watched as she revived a dead rose, and I could not have been more proud for I was not able to do such things when I still had my light. Yesterday when we came across a small rabbit touched by death she cried tears of sorrow at its sad fate, and she, only three summers old, was able to bring this rabbit back to life. So far, I was right. Her black blood can be contained, and only a true purity is gifted with life renewal. But a spirit guider had a dream of blood and chaos. She came to me and said my Flower will fall in only one summers time. The prayer should be done by then. I will not let her lose her way though I know he searches. My Flower will never __know the darkness that I do."_ And that is her last entry."

"So what does this mean?" Kuwabara asked as he scratched his head.

Koenma briefly noticed how tired he looked, bags circling his eyes and frown lines forming on his face due to stress.

"I don't really know. Obviously things didn't happen the way I was told. This changes things."

"Obviously," Yusuke mumbled.

"It seems to me that the father found where they were hiding and the mother had made the scroll to stop her child from falling victim to her demon blood, but for some reason we ended up with the scroll instead. I think the scroll was supposed to stabilize the child, so odds are the legend behind it is also false," Koenma said while leaning back in his chair, his face serious and stoic as he put all the pieces together.

"Okay so if the scroll is actually something innocent and not life threatening, then why would spider demons want it? They are hardly ever seen out in the open," Boton pondered as she looked to Kurama who seemed as if he were in deep thought.

"Maybe the child born out of their union is still running from him after all of these years. Perhaps the spider demons are searching for her and maybe she is the one who broke in and took the scroll. The only spider strong enough to have a humanoid form is their King, so odds are the King of that time is the child's father."

"That makes sense," Yusuke agreed.

"You said that you came across a woman who was being attacked by a spider demon?" Koenma questioned, his eyes still on the book.

"Yeah, her name is Hanako. She makes barriers though I had never seen one. Genkai knows her," Yusuke said absentmindedly.

"Hanako, that's a pretty name, means Flower Child," Boton mused before it went silent.

"You don't think..." Yusuke said as his head snapped up in alarm.

"I do," Kurama nodded, but something within him wanted more facts, more information before he made any final seclusion.

There were still some things missing, and it took all the old foxes control to contain his curiosity. Always a foxes downfall.

"That means..."

"What? What are you guys talking about?" Kuwabara questioned almost defensively.

"Koenma," Kurama said smoothly, his voice making the rulers head snap up in surprise. He sounded just like his Youko self, sending chills down the rulers spine despite it being his red-head counterpart sitting before him.

"Do you mind if I take that book?"

Koenma nodded his head, too frightened by the golden specks in the foxes eyes to tell him no though he desperately wanted to read through it. It seemed as though he was going to have to wait.

His life was more important, and he had a feeling that for whatever reason Youko was pushing against his human half for dominance. Sooner or later he might win, and their Kurama might be gone if nothing is done.

Koenma watched as the three men made their way out of the office, and once the doors were shut, the ruler turned towards his most trusted employee.

"We need to wrap up this case soon Boton. Things are starting to get out of control. Hiei needs to get here soon before things start to fall apart. Our guys...something is happening to them. I can't quite put my finger on it."

Boton blinked, her index finger on her chin and a slightly amused smile on her face. "Who would have thought that it would be up to Hiei to keep everyone focused and together. He's come quite a long ways, hasn't he?"

Koenma nodded but didn't reply due to the uneasy feeling swirling in his chest.

_It's up to you Hiei._

~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~

Hanako stomped her cigarette out, her nerves on high alert as she put another cigarette in between her quivering lips. She was on edge, the trip to where her people were slain testing the control that she had finally gained due to the scroll her mother put her last breath into.

"You're starting to slip aren't you."

She didn't answer. It was obvious that Hanako was in danger of being consumed by her other half...and it was a sight that Genkai did not want to witness.

"I had no choice but to point them in the right direction. I wanted to toy around with the fox some more, but now it's time to be serious. And I...am in need of help."

"You mean Kuwabara."

Hanako sighed and turned towards the old physic who had helped Hanako countless times when she had no one else to depend on.

"Yes, but not just his help. I need everyone's. I would be turned into a weapon and I can't slip and expose myself. So I cannot defend myself properly."

"Is he on his way?"

Hanako closed her eyes and tilted her face up towards the blackened sky. Yes, he would have known that she was going to need him soon. They were getting close and in response her blood was burning, her mind screaming constantly for her to lash out in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

She took another drag of her cigarette.

"I hope so," she whispered.

"What's your plan. I know you have the scroll, and now that you showed them the truth I'm curious to know what you will choose to do next."

"I wait," was Hanako's simple response.

"And if Spirit World comes after you?"

"I will take full responsibility and whatever consequences come my way...but not until he is gone. I will never be able to rest knowing he still breathes. I will never forgive him for putting me on a path I cannot veer off of."

~~~W~~~W~~~W~~~  
He smirked as he looked over the group of men kneeling in fear before him. They were all cowards, and within only five minutes he had them rounded up and nearly pissing themselves.

"So, you are the spineless men who were letting demons through the border."

"He was going to kill us!" one of them screamed, and Hiei chuckled, silencing him with the dark menacing sound.

"And what do you think I'm going to do?"

He watched in a sick fascination as shivers made the men quiver in pathetic fear.

_Spineless indeed..._

"We're not telling you anything!" the traitor on the left yelled, but his voice was shaking in the fear that he was failing to hide.

"Very well," Hiei said calmly as the slit on his forehead opened to reveal his Jagon.

The man screamed in agony, Hiei making it hurt on purpose as he probed his mind viciously. And when he was done the man was nothing more but an empty shell lying on the ground in a heap.

"What did you do to him?" another man whispered but Hiei remained silent, instead nodding for his soldiers behind him to take the men to Yomi for prosecution. Mukuro was much too busy to kill pathetic demons such as these, and Hiei had other business to attend to.

"Head back to Mukuro and tell her that I have completed my job."

He did not wait for those under his command to respond before he took off towards the portal that would lead him closest to where the others have created homes. He was curious to know what they had found out thus far. He gained some interesting things from that fools mind, and he was sure that by now at least the fox had figured out most of the mystery.

And Hiei was itching for a good fight. Lately, he found himself a little bored and he could use some entertainment.

He smirked, his crimson eyes flashing like two out of control flames before he quickened his speed, not once slowing until the portal was in sight.

He allowed himself to breathe in the fresh air where his old teammates had decided to live, and for a moment he admired the lush greenery and gentle breeze of the night air. Not all parts of the Human World were bad, but of course Hiei would never admit that to anyone but himself.

"It's about time you showed up. I trust that you have found out some things on your end?"

The fire demon turned slightly to his oldest teammate, and if he were anyone else the alarm and surprise would have shown on his face. Kurama looked different, sounded different, even stood differently.

His voice was deeper, his emerald eyes a little colder, and his stance relaxed as if he found nothing around him to be a threat. Hiei straightened up slightly, his eyes narrowing at he examined the fox demon.

"We have found some interesting things on this end as well. We were discussing it in Yusuke's house, but I decided to meet you out here," Kurama continued, "Take a peek."

Hiei nodded and opened his Jagon, slipping into Kurama's head with ease only someone with his amount of skill could have. But he was soon confused, not by what he was seeing, but by the actions Kurama was choosing to take.

"If you know who we are searching for, than why not tell that fool up in Spirit World all that you know? Are you that desperate to find your old companion?"

It was silent as the breeze switched directions, both men studying the other though no hospitality was between them.

"There are still more to this that we don't know," Kurama finally said, and in response Hiei nodded.

"The king of the spider clan is searching for a weapon that would help take over all of Demon World. He wants to expand his pathetic territory so he'll feel more important."

Hiei watched as something flashed behind Kurama's gaze, like a puzzle shifting into place. He didn't bother with his Jagon, already knowing that the fox would have his mind locked up tight.

Kurama knew what he was doing, even if he did seem a little off. But Hiei wasn't alarmed. It was about time Youko came out to place.

Hiei smirked.


End file.
